I love books--- paranormal, urban fantasy, romance of any kind, historical fiction, YA, and many others. Political or self help are about the only kind I don't pick up.

BOOKS AND BLOGGING PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is defined as a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought. Well, my theory is if I can add at least 10 new books to my Wishlist and move at least 5 older Wishlist selections to my TBR list every month, then life is a ice cream sundae. And if I can find those 10 books from at least 5 new blogs each month then that's the cherry on top.

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!

NEW VISITORS AND OLD- WELCOME!

Well, I've made it almost 5 years now, so for better or worse, I continue on. I tend to blog in spurts as the urge to be creative erupts. As I don't have an artistic bone in my body, you will see very few changes in the layouts. Hey, I'm a reader not an artist like so many of the awesome bloggers I follow. I know you don't always have the time but if you stopped and looked, take a half a minute and say your piece. Recommend a book that you have enjoyed or hated for that matter. Thank you to all who visit.

Oh, and I moved my Google Friend Connect info and share this buttons to the top, as without our friends, who are we?

Saturday, December 30, 2017

I ordinarily do not do New Year's Resolutions. But I started on this one three weeks ago and boy does it feel invigorating. I started blogging about 8 years ago so the emails I receive have built up to an alarming number over the years. My fault totally, as I can't say NO. I get, on an average, around 300 emails a day (peak days as many as 500). A day mind you! No one can possibly go through that many. So I made the decision to clean out all of the ones from authors. My favorite, I buy everything you've ever written, to those that I only vaguely know what you write authors. This way I can actually read the ones from bloggers about new releases. I promote a lot of new books and had found myself agreeing to newsletters from all you authors. Ordinally this would not be a problem as I expected to hear from you maybe 4 or 5 times a year. Well, there are so many out there that I hear from EVERY SINGLE DAY! I kid you not! Sometimes, twice in one day. You let me know about everything that's going on in your lives, every time the price on a book drops, when you move, when the toilet backs up, and hell even when NOTHING is going on! I also get newsletters from most publishers, not realizing that often this meant every one of their authors too. So I made the decision to clean it up. No, I'm not interested in responding why I've canceled your newsletter

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If I filled this out for everyone I've opted out of that would be up about 800 times, nor will the sad puppy dog eyes encourage/shame me into changing my mind (though I did choose to follow many of you on Facebook or Twitter). I generally already know when you have a new release coming out as I now have time to read your ARCs, other blogger's newsletters and comment on their reviews. I was spending (wasting) so much time deleting unread emails that I didn't have time to read my books. So I have now whittled my daily email intake to a more manageable number so that I can get back to the business of reading new books, reviewing them, blogging about them, and reading the blogs of other reviewers. I now spend less than an hour going through the emails and even responding to many of them. So I'm going to be strong and NOT subscribe to new newsletters and continue to caul out any that did not get caught in the first time draft. I still love reading your books, I just don't need to hear from you every SINGLE day.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Today we are showcasing just a few of the books that you need to get and enjoy while relaxing during the holiday season.

While your here, be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Be on the lookout for Part 3 of the Year in Review with Month9books!

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN 2017:

Savage begins the Dragonrider Legacy series, a thrilling companion to the international bestselling Dragonrider Chronicles.

Never send a hero to do a monster’s job.

Forty years have passed since Jaevid Broadfeather brought peace to Maldobar and Luntharda. But that fragile truce will be tested as darkness gathers on the horizon. The vicious armies of the Tibran Empire have crossed the far seas and are threatening to destroy Maldobar completely. Not even the dragonriders can match the Tibran war machines. And after an attempt to awaken Jaevid from his divine sleep fails, the fate of Maldobar is looking grim.

Reigh has never known what it means to be a normal human. Raised amongst the gray elves in the wild jungle of Luntharda, he’s tried everything to fit in. But the dark power within him is bursting at the seams—refusing to be silenced. And while his adoptive father, Kiran, insists this power must be kept secret, Reigh knows he’s running out of time.

As Maldobar burns, the world is desperate for a new hero. Destiny has called, and one boy will rise to answer.

Pre-order NIKAN REBUILT by Scarlett Cole, book three in the Preload series, today!

“Another amazing series! Scarlett Cole just writes some AMAZING characters, that are raw, real but still fictional enough that they could be your next book boyfriend or real enough that it’s someone you know…I can’t wait for more of the Preload boys.” —TBR Book Blog

NIKAN REBUILT releases next week and we can’t wait for you to read this super-sexy rockstar romance! Pre-order today so you don’t miss this second-chance romance. Plus enter to win a Kindle Fire from Scarlett Cole!

Title: Nikan Rebuilt

Author: Scarlett Cole

Series: Preload #3

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 2, 2018

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press SWERVE

Format: Digital and Paperback

From the queen of heart-pounding, sexy, emotional romance Scarlett Cole comes Nikan Rebuilt, the next novel in the Preload series.

Does the past ever really stay in the past?

Nikan can never be complete. He's got a rock group made up of the family he built for himself, more money than he knows what to do with, and a stream of groupies falling over themselves to date him. But none of them are her. The one regret that still plagues him, still taunts him with what he could have had.

Jenny is a survivor. Now running a group home after overcoming life in a cult lead by her manipulative father and watching her mother drink the poison he fed his followers, she fights to keep the light in the eyes of every boy who walks through her doors. Far from simple young love, Nik taught her to trust, showed her how good life could be. Before he formed the band. Before he became a famous rockstar. Before he destroyed it all.

A chance meeting after years of no contact shows the connection still blazes between them. But will they have their second chance at love? Or will the weight of their past crush their future together?

FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via NetgalleyCopy provided by the publisher for the purpose of providing an honest review. This does not effect my opinion of this book.

Don't miss Into the Night, the next electrifying installment in the Killer Instinct series from bestselling author Cynthia Eden and HQN Books.

A mysterious predator seems to be one step ahead of the FBI…The “Profiler” is finding serial killers…and executing them before the FBI can arrive at the scene. It’s up to FBI Agent Macey Night and her sexy as sin partner Bowen Murphy to stop the Profiler…because his work is only just beginning…and killers aren’t the only ones he plans to eliminate…

FBI Special Agent Macey Night knows what it is like to be a victim. Years ago, she was targeted by a sadistic serial killer—stalked and hunted and then viciously attacked. But Macey turned the tables on her attacker. She escaped him, and now, she works in an experimental unit in the FBI, a unit that has the goal of eliminating the serial predators who stalk the night. Macey works side by side with Bowen Murphy, and she tries to resist the attraction she feels for her sexy partner. But when Bowen and Macey find themselves targeted by a killer, they must race against the clock to stop a deadly predator.

Now this is what a great Psychological Thriller looks like. I gotta tell you I found myself gripping my Kindle so tight that I got cramps in my fingers. Don't start this book until you've got a free block of time to read nonstop cause you won't want to lay it down or stop to eat. My husband swore I gave him killer looks anytime he tried to engage me in conversation while reading this book. I just remember it was about 3 AM when I finished and had to race to the bathroom as I hadn't moved for hours. I also loved that the twisty ending had me guessing right up until the very end. Kudos to Ms Eden as that doesn't happen too often. I did figure out a tiny part but not the majority of it. Though this is the third in the series, it can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

The second book in the Juniper Falls series from NY Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Cross, perfect for fans of Miranda Kenneally and Abbi Glines.

Haley Stevenson seems like she’s got it all together: cheer captain, “Princess” of Juniper Falls, and voted Most Likely to Get Things Done. But below the surface, she’s struggling with a less-than-stellar GPA and still reeling from the loss of her first love. Repeating her Civics class during summer school is her chance to Get Things Done, not angst over boys. In fact, she’s sworn them off completely until college.
Fletcher Scott is happy to keep a low profile around Juniper Falls. He’s always been the invisible guy, warming the bench on the hockey team and moonlighting at a job that would make his grandma blush. Suddenly, though, he’s finding he wants more: more time on the ice, and more time with his infuriatingly perfect summer-school study partner.
But leave it to a girl who requires perfection to shake up a boy who’s ready to break all the rules.

Julie Cross is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author of New Adult and Young Adult fiction, including the Tempest series, a young adult science fiction trilogy which includes Tempest, Vortex, Timestorm (St. Martin's Press). She's also the author of Letters to Nowhere series, Whatever Life Throws at You, Third Degree, Halfway Perfect, Chasing Truth, Off the Ice and many more to come! Julie Cross was a longtime resident of central Illinois but has recently moved her entire family across the country to continue her academic studies at Stanford University.

Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart in A DISTANT HEART.“Searingly asks its characters what they’re willing to do for the people they love… explores family dynamics, class issues, and many layers of guilt, hope, and determination in ways that are both distinctly Indian and universally luminous. Another beautiful, breathtaking novel from a not-to-be-missed author.” – Kirkus, STARRED Review

Add A DISTANT HEART to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get an EXCLUSIVE first look and enter the giveaway for a prize pack from Sonali that includes a $50 Amazon gift card and print copies of A Bollywood Affair and A Change of Heart!

Title: A Distant Heart

Author: Sonali Dev

Genre: Romantic Women’s

Fiction

Release Date: December 26, 2017

Publisher: Kensington

Page Count: 100k

Print ISBN: 978-1496705761

Digital ISBN: B06XZR97YK

Her name means “miracle” in Sanskrit, and to her parents, that’s exactly what Kimaya is. The first baby to survive after several miscarriages, Kimi grows up in a mansion at the top of Mumbai’s Pali Hill, surrounded by love and privilege. But at eleven years old, she develops a rare illness that requires her to be confined to a germ-free ivory tower in her home, with only the Arabian Sea churning outside her window for company. . . . Until one person dares venture into her world.

Tasked at fourteen years old with supporting his family, Rahul Savant shows up to wash Kimi’s windows, and an unlikely friendship develops across the plastic curtain of her isolation room. As years pass, Rahul becomes Kimi’s eyes to the outside world–and she becomes his inspiration to better himself by enrolling in the police force. But when a life-saving heart transplant offers the chance of a real future, both must face all that ties them together and keeps them apart.

As Kimi anticipates a new life, Rahul struggles with loving someone he may yet lose. And when his investigation into an organ black market ring run by a sociopathic gang lord exposes dangerous secrets that cut too close to home, only Rahul’s deep, abiding connection with Kimi can keep her safe–and reveal the true meaning of courage, loss, and second chances.

Infused with the rhythms of life in modern-day India, acclaimed author Sonali Dev’s candid, rewarding novel beautifully evokes all the complexities of the human heart.

Zethus is a sorcerer―a self-described spiritual thug for hire. He makes his living in CrossTown, a place where the manyworld hypothesis of modern physics manifests itself, where possibilities and probabilities overlap.

Caught up in a web of intrigue as he investigates the death of his master, Corvinus, and pursued by agents that want to erase all knowledge of Corvinus’ work, Zethus discovers that the key to his master’s murder lies in the last project he had pursued before his death. The roots of this project lie deep in the past, at the origin of CrossTown’s fractured reality.

Once he understands the stakes, Zethus must make the dangerous journey to the cradle of history. The price he must pay to find the answers he seeks will threaten everything he holds dear―including his own humanity.

“Beware the road outside your front door, for it is all at once old friend and passing stranger.” –CrossTown

roads are choices; the turning and branching of roads are choices; roads are physical

manifestations of their builders’ decisions…

Everywhere,

every place and every time where man or something like him has lived, roads run

into one another, branch, disappear here and reappear over there as if they

were quantum tunneling. They run, meet, part,

cross again, and form a bewildering Mandelbrot set of linked probabilities.

Beware the road outside your front

door, for it is both old friend and passing stranger.

All those choices, all hooked

together, comprise a vast sea of possibility.

A knowledgeable traveler can ride the currents in that sea to unimagined

destinations…

CrossTown is the crossroads of

probability.

Loren W Cooper is the author of four novels, one short story collection and one nonfiction work. He has won the NESFA in 1998 and the EPPIE for Best Anthology in 2001. He is married with two daughters. He currently lives in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Favorite authors include Zelazny, Hammet, Steakley, and Catton. Loren Currently works for Hewlett-Packard.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Today we are showcasing just a few of the books that you need to get and enjoy

while relaxing during the holiday season.

While your here, be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Be on the lookout for Part 2 of the Year in Review with Month9books!

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN 2017:

Darkness can only be controlled by those with the darkest of hearts.

Ellison lost her mother at an early age. Now, sixteen, her father has found love again. He’s happy and doesn’t quite notice that Ellison does not get along with his new wife or her vicious daughters.

When Ellison discovers a necromantic tome while traveling the secret passages of her father’s mansion, she wonders if it could be the key to her eventual freedom.

Until then, she must master her dark new power, even as her stepmother makes her a servant in her own home. And when her younger brother falls incurably ill, Ellison will do anything to ease his pain, including falling prey to her stepmother’s and stepsisters’ every whim and fancy.

Stumbling into a chance meeting with Prince William during a secret visit to her mother’s grave feels like a trick of fate when her stepmother refuses to allow Ellison to attend a palace festival where she might see him once more.

But what if Ellison could see the kind and handsome prince again? What if she could attend the festival? What if she could have everything she’s ever wanted and deserved by conjuring spirits to take revenge on her cruel stepmother? And what if she actually liked watching her stepmother suffer?

As Ellison’s power grows, she loses control over the evil spirits meant to do her bidding. And as they begin to exert their own power over Ellison, it becomes harder to tell whether it is she or her stepmother who is the true monster.

CINDERELLA NECROMANCER is CINDER meets ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD and was inspired by a real medieval grimoire of necromancy from 15th-century Germany

F.M. Boughan is a bibliophile, a writer, and an unabashed parrot enthusiast. She can often be found writing in local coffee shops, namely because it’s hard to concentrate with a cat lying on the keyboard and a small, colorful parrot screaming into her ear. Her work is somewhat dark, somewhat violent, somewhat hopeful, and always contains a hint of magic.

caution to the wind, I slipped my feet into a pair of runners and walked down

the road, telling myself it was to clear my mind. But really, I was on the prowl

for fresh meat. Someone vulnerable—easy prey. I had to be smart about it; it

was broad daylight after all.

Every

person who walked past became a possible target. In my mind’s eye, I pictured a

computer log for each one, listing their attributes. Having limited knowledge

on the ins and outs of cannibalism, I had no idea what the perfect body type

was for consumption. Would it matter if they were male or female? Was it better

if they were lean and muscular, or was a layer of padding more flavourful? How

was I to choose?

Turns

out, I didn’t need to think about it at all. On my walk back home, I was

knocked off my feet by a man out for a jog. He’d been too busy flicking through

the playlist on his phone to see me, and by the time we’d both looked up, it was

too late. We collided, my forehead into his chin and mouth. My hands

automatically went up, pressing against his chest and sending us both bouncing

off each other, landing on our behinds. Apologising profusely, he offered me

his hand and pulled me to my feet. The impact had left a red egg on my head and

skinned my palms raw. He, however, came across a little worse for wear,

sporting a newly chipped tooth, and fat, bleeding lip. As soon as I got a whiff

of the blood on his breath, I knew, he was the one.

I

pointed to my house across the street, inviting him in to clean up while he

called the emergency dentist. It was the least I could do.

Ushering

him into the bathroom, I had him perch on the edge of the bath while I rummaged

through the cabinet for the first aid kit. I needed to knock him out somehow.

There was no way I could do this without it… unless…

About Stacey Broadbent:

Stacey lives in Ashburton, New
Zealand, with her husband and three children. An avid reader and self-confessed
book-a-holic, she has always had a love of the written word, so it was only a
matter of time before she took pen to paper and began on her writing journey.
Stacey is a multi-genre author, with books from light-hearted comedies to
zombie thrillers. She is also part of the writing duo 'The Ink Slinging
Sisters' with friend S.K. Lessner. You can often find her lurking on social
media so don't be afraid to reach out and have a chat.

Living in a squalid encampment in
the shadows of a towering city, a young woman able to endow objects with magical powers struggles with her brother's growing determination to use her
gift for his own selfish means.

EXCERPTA MILLION CLAY WOLVES :

“Do

you remember Jamey? Has a tattoo of a whale on his right arm, wears a red and

white striped tank top—Sound familiar?”

Mora nodded. “He juggled knives and guns.”

“That’s

right. Jamey is my boyfriend and we’re very happy, only… He has this crazy idea

that he should give up the troop, join the army instead. He thinks it would

provide a better life for us, but he’s wrong. This is the only life I want and

I don’t want it to change. I need you to change his mind.”

“What?” She took a step away from Dare. “I… I can’t do that!”

“You

don’t realize it, but you can. I saw it in you. The ability to endow magic. You

just needed a jumpstart, and yesterday…” she pointed to the feather, “I gave it

to you.”

Mora stared at the feather, still crumpled in her hand.

“Tell

the feather that Jamey’s place is with me. In the troop. Tell the feather it

needs to change Jamey’s mind. Go on.”

Mora

lifted the feather halfway to her face, then paused. This would never work.

Clearly circus life had taken its toll on Dare’s mental health. Or perhaps

unstable people were attracted to the quirky life the troop seemed to lead. It

was silly to give in to Dare’s demands. Then again, if she didn’t do it,

perhaps Dare would become so angry, she’d bust out of her purple corset and

become a rage-fueled She-Hulk. Perhaps the simplest way out of this situation

was to tell the feather to become a mind-changer and then get the hell out of

there.

“Fine,

whatever.” She brought the feather to her lips and blew words into it. “Change

Jamey’s mind. Make him stay. Oh!” She jumped as a tingling sensation moved

through her body, from the soles of her feet up her legs and spine, then out to

the tips of her fingers and into the feather. “What… what just happened.”

Dare’s

face went back to its friendly older sister mode. “Exactly what I thought

would. Thank you, Mora.” She took the feather back from Mora and pinned it into

her dark, shimmering hair. “Wiser people than me would tell you to be careful

with this gift of yours. Magic can be used for good or for evil. It doesn’t

care which, most of the time.”

Confused,

Mora toyed with a stray thread from the hem of her t-shirt. “But you’re… not

telling me to be careful?”

Dare

grasped Mora’s chin and tilted it so their eyes met. “We don’t find out what

we’re capable of through advice.” She gave Mora’s face a tiny squeeze and then

let her go. “Trial and error, darlin’."

About Amber K Bryant:

Amber K. Bryant is an

award-winning author and a librarian living deep within Sasquatch territory in

Washington State. She has co-authored a short story with R. L. Stine, won a

Watty for her novella UNSEEN, and won three contests judged by Margaret Atwood.

When not glued to her keyboard, Amber can be found spending time with her

husband and son, hiking, gardening, and searching in vain for the illusive

Ethics and vampirism hardly go together,
and Aestan has concluded he is trapped between two bad situations. A chance
meeting with his neighbor Summer changes everything as she offers the solution
to his problems. He can have her blood. She's more than happy to give it if it
keeps him from robbing blood banks or killing people. Though at first he is
relieved, he soon realizes that even what is freely given may yet have
consequences he does not desire.

Books à la Mode!

Bad Bird Reviews

Under The Covers

CURRENT GIVEAWAYS ON MY BLOG

GoodReads Bookshelf

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All I can say is holy freaking WOW! I got the wonderful opportunity to read the first 11 chapters of this fabulous first book in what is going to be a fabulous new series. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Net Galley! Awesome! simply aweso...

I know it's only February, but I may have just read what could become my favorite book of 2016. It has been so long since I've read a book that captivated me as much as this juicy post-apocalyptic romance. This book has it all- adventure...

I've not read the first book in this series and it's really not essential to the storyline in this one, but I just have to go back and read it so I have a fuller picture of these assassins. Christopher Argent was born and raised in Newga...

As a lover of thrillers, this book drew me in from the beginning. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was I found it so improbable that someone could have lived off the grid for ten years in this day and time. The main character ...

First of all (and I'm not usually one that drools over a book cover, butttt) this cover model reminds me so much of two of my fav
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I really wanted to love this book. I love historicals, cowboys and the whole idea of mail-order brides but felt that this story was a bit lacking in details. I wanted more history and more of the bride train. I think it would have benefi...

I enjoyed this romance. While the romance didn't blow me away, the story in it's entirety was quite enjoyable. I think I've gotten a bit tired of the billionaire/prince storylines, though the precious baby angle will always drag me in. W...

These stories had two things that ordinarily mark a story as a sure winner for me-babies and a second chance at romance. Throw in suspense and bam! I'm loving it. But for some reason neither clicked for me. Possibly because both stories ...

Miller never fails to leave me satisfied after reading one of her western romances and always has me checking to see when the next book in a series is being released. As always, I'm never disappointed in the characters or the storyline. ...

I love a story where the secondary characters are as likeable as the main characters. This was an awesome followup to book 1, taking up right where "Playing Dirty" left off. This is a hot, sexy, fun read and I can't wait for "Coming Clea...

I've read twisty murder thrillers before but nothing, nothing on the scale of "No One Knows". Just as soon as you feel comfortable that you've got a hold on the truth and what's really going on, the rug gets ripped out from under you and...

I've been thinking about reading this series
for awhile so when I got a chance to read this
collection of novellas from the series, I jumped
at it as I thought it would be a good chance to get
a quick feel for the series. I'm always ...

I haven't read the first book in the series
but having read Fox's Biker Witches Mystery
series, I knew I'd enjoy this one too. As always
her characters have you laughing out loud. Verity's
pet skunk is adorable and side-kick ghost, F...

This book had all the things I love in a small
town romance, a sometimes feisty character
who could make me laugh, a little suspense
and mystery, and a hunky guy.
Benevolence, Wash so reminded me of my small
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LEGAL STUFF

In accordance with new FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review on Lisa's Loves Books of Course are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book. I do not receive money for such reviews. These books are sent to me for an honest review. If you have any questions, please contact me.